Car-coupling



(No Model.) 'W. A. FLOOK.

OAR-GOUPLING. 7 No. 486,864. Patented Nov. 29,1892.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. FLOOK, OF DES MOINES, IOWA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN C.HAMRICK, OF PRINCETON, ILLINOIS.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 486,864, dated November29, 1892. Application filed June 9, 1892. Serial No- 436,079. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, it may concern..-

Be it known that I, WlLLIAM A. FLOOK, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Des Moines, in the county of Polk and State ofIowa, have invented an Automatic Car-Coupling, of which the following isa specification.

My object is to avoid the dangers and accidents incident to personsgoing between cars to adjust coupling links and pins, as required, tocouple and uncouple cars; and my invention consists in the construction,arrangement,

and combination of a link-balancing device, a pin carrier and holder,and means for lifting the pin carrier and holder, and a draw-bar, ashereinafterset forth, pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectionalview of my draw-bar, showing all the operative de vices combinedtherewith and in their relative positions as required to retain acoupling-link balanced and level to facilitate coupling two carstogether by means of the link. Dotted lines indicate the positions ofthe link-moving and pin-supporting device and the pin carrier and holderwhen the complete device is in readiness for the reception of a linkprojecting from the draw-head of a car that is to be coupled with a carthat is equipped with my invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of mylink-balancing device in an inverted position. Fig. 3 is a perspectiveview of my link-moving and pin-supporting device. Fig. 4 is aperspective view of my pin-carrier. Fig. 5 is a perspective View of apin adapted to be adjustably and detachably fastened to the pincarrier.Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a rockshaft having a curved arm at itscenter adapted to be combined with the draw-bar, the linkmoving device,and the pin-carrier. Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing my completeinvention applied to a car, as required, for practical use.

A represents a draw-bar that may vary in form at its rear end asrequired to be connected with cars in different ways. It has shoulders Aat its sides, adapted to engage the front ends of wooden bars fixed tothe under sides of a car, and a shoulder A on its top, adapted to engagea block fixed to the front face of the car, as shown in Fig. 7. By thusproviding shoulders at the sides and on top of the draw-bar the force ofany blow received on the front and free end of the draw-bar, from impactwith the draw-bar of another car, is distributed. The front end or headof the draw-bar has a bell-shaped mouth and linkcavity and parallelwalls and a bottom in rear of the link-cavity that produce an elongatedopen-topped chamber adapted to admit the link moving and pin -carryingdevice, as shown in Fig. 1.

A is a vertical projection on the front and center of the draw-head,adapted to serve as a guard to protect the coupling-pin and pincarrier.A cavity extending downward from the bottom of the link-cavity isadapted to admit the lower end of a coupling-pin. A cavity extendingupward from the link-cavity is adapted in form to admit and retain thelinkbalancing device. The top of the cavity is extended rearward toproduce a shoulder B that will restrict the downward motions of thelink-balancing device fitted in the cavity, as shown in Fig. l.

B is the link-balancing device, in the form of a metal block, adapted todescend into the cavity B far enough to engage the couplinglink in thelink-cavity, as required, to retain the link balanced in alevelposition. An elongated pin-hole that extends vertically through thedevice B is adapted toallow a flat-sided coupling-pin B to pass up anddown therein and through a link, as required, to engage and retain acoupling-link 0 within the link-cavity and under the device 13 as shownin Fig. 1. An incline on the bottom of the device B is adapted to letthe front end of the linkmoving device slip underneath, as required, tolift the device B The linkG has achain attached to its center, and thefree end of the chain is detachably attached to a hook O projectingdownward from the under side of the draw-head.

D is a link-moving device in the form of'a straight fiat bar adapted toslide on the bottom of the open-topped chamber extending rearward fromthe link-cavity. It has integral bearers at its rear end adapted tosupport a roller D at its bottom and a roller D in an elevated position.Nos. 1, 2, and 3 are concaves across an inclined plane at the rear endtop surface of the bottom of the chamber upon which the device D restsand into which concaves the roller D enters and. rests, as and for thepurposes hereinafter set forth.

F is a pin-carrying device made by bending a flat metal bar into shape,as shown in Fig. 4. Its rear end is pivoted to the drawbar to extendforward over the roller D and incline forward from said roller to thefront portion of the chamber in rear of the linkcavity and then upwardand forward over the fiat top of the link-balancing device B An angularperforation at the front end is adapted to allow the flat body of thepin to pass downward therein, and a neck at the top of the body allowsthe pin to be rotated in the carrier, and a flange or head on the pinprevents the pin from passing down through the carrier. When the pin issuspended in the carrier, a quarter-revolution will prevent it frompassing upward relative to the carrier and allow it to be raised andlowered in the perforation of the pin-balancing device, whichperforation will prevent the pin from turning, and consequently aid inretaining the pin connected with the carrier, as required, to movejointly with the carrier in coupling and uncoupling cars.

H is a rock-shaft in bearings 11*, to the sides of the draw-head.

J is a curved arm projecting from the rockshaft through a slot inthebottom of the drawhead and into a perforation in the link-moving deviceD, as shown in Fig. 1.

K is an arm on the rock-shaft, and K is a rod connected therewith toextend to the top attached of a car in such a manner that the rock-shaftcan be actuated therewith by a person on top of the car. Crank-handleson the ends of the rock-shaft adapt it to be operated by a person at theside of acar.

In the practical operation of my invention when two cars approach eachother on a track to be coupled together and each carries a link inposition, as shown in Fig. 7, one of the links is readily thrown out bya person at the side or on top of one of the cars, operating therock-shaft, as required, to lift the pin and at the same time move thelink-moving device forward, so that the operative parts will assumepositions as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. The link carried bythe other car will then enter the vacant link-cavity and push thelink-moving device rearward, as required, to allow the pin-carrier F todescend and the pin B to drop through the link 0, as shown in Figs. 1and 7, and, as required, to securely couple the two cars together. Whenthe arm J is thrown upward and forward by means of the rock-shaft, itpasses upward through the perforation in the sliding device D to movethat device forward, as required, to engage the link 0 and push it outof the link-cavity, and as the device D moves forward the elevatedroller D carried at its rear end, engages the link-carrier F and liftsit to elevate the pin B and free the link 0, as required, to uncouple.

When a car is coupled, the roller D rests in the concave No. 3, and whenadjusted, as required, to be in readiness for coupling it rests in theconcave No. 1, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1; and when it isdesired to lift the pin without pushing out the link, but to allow thelink to be retained under the device E the roller D will rest in theconcave No. 2.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a car-coupling, a link-balancing deviceconsisting of a metal block having a vertical perforation to allow a pinto descend therethrough and said block placed loosely in a cavity ofcorresponding form in the drawhead, in combination with a draw-headhaving an open-topped cavity, a coupling-link, and a coupling-pin, tooperate in the manner set forth.

2. The link-balancing device B having a perforation adapted to admit aflat pin 13, having a neck and head, and a pin-carrier F, having anelongated opening across the end and in right-angled position relativeto the opening in the device B in combinationwith a draw-head having acavity adapted to admit the device B and means for raising and loweringthe pin-carrier F and a pin carried thereby, as and for the purposesstated.

3. In a car-coupling, a link-moving and pinsupporting device consistingof a flat bar having roller-bearers at its rear end to carry one rollerat its bottom and another roller in an elevated position, in combinationwith a draw-bar having a chamber extending rearward from the link-cavityand an inclined plane in the top surface of the rear part of the floorof said chamber and concave across said incline plane, adapted toreceive and retain a roller, and a pin-carrier pivoted'in said chamberand adapted to be lifted by the for ward motion of the link-movingdevice, and means for sliding the link-moving device, arranged andcombined to operate in the manner set forth, for the purposes stated.

4. A rock-shaft having a curved arm at its central portion in bearingsfixed to a drawbar, in combination with a sliding link-moving devicehaving an opening to admit said arm in a chamber in rear of thelink-cavity, a pin-carrying device pivoted to the draw-bar, and meansfor operating the rock-shaft, for the purposes stated.

5. A draw-bar having shoulders A on its sides and a shoulder A on itstop at some distance from the shoulders at the sides, in combinationwith the ends of bars fixed in parallel position on the bottom of a carand a bar of dead-wood fixed across the front of a car, substantially asand for the purposes shown and described.

6. An automatic car-coupling comprising a draw-bar having an openbell-shaped mouth and link-cavity, an open-topped cavity at its frontend intersecting the link-cavity, and a a pin suspended from the frontend of the pin-carrier and adapted to pass down through a perforation inthe link-balancing device and also through a link in the link-cavity,all ar- I 5 ranged and combined to operate in the manner set forth.

WILLIAM A. FLOOK.

Witnesses J. RALPH ORWIG, THOMAS G. ORWIG.

